Widow wants answers: death of Bridgeton activist Ronald "Blue" Bowman one year later

BRIDGETON — Ronald “Blue” Bowman had an evening routine of chips and tea.

His widow believes groceries, still in the trunk of his car when she retrieved the vehicle, may be clues to what unfolded a year ago today.

Bowman, 59, was found dead inside his Indian Run Apartment Complex home on Aug. 22, 2010. Few updates on the case of the slain community cornerstone have been made public since then.

“He has chips every night and drinks his tea. He must have been low on sugar for the tea. That’s when it had to have happened. They came in when he went in or went in with him,” said Martina Bowman, wife of 16 years.

Bowman was a member of the Bridgeton Board of Education, the owner of a downtown Bridgeton clothing store for 11 years, president of the Bridgeton Main Street Association and had worked at Ranch Hope for Girls and Boys, in Alloway.

State and local media descended on the region the day after the news broke. One year later, Bowman’s widow remains critical of the investigation and claims she is being left out of the loop.

Motives and Theories

“The case is still being actively pursued,” said Bridgeton Police Chief Mark Ott on Friday.

“We’re still asking for anyone with information or suspicions to bring that to our attention. We’ve tracked down multiple leads. We believe that robbery was the potential motive.”

A friend of Bowman found him dead, with his hands tied behind his back and inside his bedroom, on the afternoon of Aug. 22. Investigators believe Bowman had been dead for two or three days before the discovery.

Local authorities had consulted with forensic investigators from the New Jersey State Police and FBI regarding evidence from Bowman’s home and vehicle.

About four months before Bowman’s death, police investigated a burglary at his Indian Run apartment.

A “substantial” amount of cash, as well as prescription drugs, were reported stolen. About eight hours after reporting the April 27 incident, Bowman called off the investigation, which he labeled a “misunderstanding.”

Bowman’s widow says the case is at a “standstill,” but police conducted a DNA analysis in late spring. She said she was not updated when the results came in or what, if anything, was revealed.

“No one ever calls me. I have to go to them (police.) Forget a phone call or message, I actually have to go there to the police department and catch them,” she said.

Bowman’s widow has her own analysis of what may have happened to her husband.She believes he left the house hungry and returned with groceries.

“He was taking groceries out of the car, going in the house and putting them away,” she

Staff photo by Cindy HepnerBridgeton and Cumberland County investigators outside of the Indian Run, Bridgeton, apartment of Ronald "Blue" Bowman, who was found dead there Sunday afternoon.

said, adding that she believes whoever was involved in the crime came in from behind.

“When I got the car out of impoundment, there was still a bag in the trunk with chips and sugar in the trunk. That’s his thing; chips and Sleepytime tea.

“I said, you know what, he must have brought the other bags in first.

“Steak in a grocery bag was in the pantry. I think he was swinging it. He must have had it in his hand and he must have swung it and it came out of his hand,” she said.

The corner of Casarow and Cocelli drives was sectioned off by police that August evening. More than 50 residents stood in neighboring front yards well into the night as law enforcement personnel entered and exited the home.

Some spoke about their memories of a well-dressed and standout activist. Others, about what they heard had happened inside.

The corner was quiet Sunday afternoon and children played farther down the street.According to a neighbor, a relative now lives at 50 Casarow Drive.

While the house is occupied, an adult at the residence was not available early Sunday afternoon and did not return a request for comment.

A “heart for children”

A Facebook page setup in memory of Bowman was flooded with condolences just after the incident.

Of the dozen or so posts made since June, 10 are from Martina. “Oh how I miss my husband. I love you, babe. Today, tomorrow and forever,” reads a portion of the most recent post made last Saturday night.

Staff photo by Greg AdomaitisBowman's former home on Casarow Drive as seen Sunday.

When headed down Casarow Drive, Herman Willingham lives in the first house on the left. He and Bowman “grew up together on the south side of Bridgeton.”

According to Willingham, names of people possibly involved were dropped in conversation among certain circles of the community. “You hear things. It’s not for sure,” he explained further.

He said police had reportedly spoken with two of the people whose names were brought up in conversation.

“They let them go eventually,” said Willingham, who moved into a house just across the street from Bowman’s three months ago.

“Once upon a time, where I was at in the world, I didn’t care about the cops. But, now, I realize how important they are.”

A scholarship in memory of “Blue’’ will be awarded at the end of the coming school year by the Bridgeton Public Schools District to a college-bound Bridgeton High School senior.

“It was on our hearts and minds probably as early as October of last year,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomasina Jones.

The $500 scholarship will be awarded to a student who demonstrates “leadership, excellence of character and community involvement.”

Bowman was elected to the school board in 2008 and Jones said his seat would had been up for re-election that November. His actual seat at the board of education building on Bank Street remained empty for a number of meetings following his death.

Jones said $1,769 had been raised by teachers and with school board member contributions.

“He was an outstanding, exceptional board member. He really had a heart for children,” said Jones, who was serving as acting superintendent at the time Bowman died.

“I knew him personally. He was a good guy.”

As a crisis intervention trainer at Ranch Hope, Bowman again was embedded in the lives of area youth.

In a May 2007 interview with The News, he acknowledged over two decades spent wrapped up in drugs until he got clean at 40 years old.

“It’s a country of second chances, of forgiveness,” he said that year of his induction into the Cumberland County Black Hall of Fame.

Bowman said things weren’t always perfect between she and her husband. But, the two saw past imperfections and kept in touch every day if away from each other.

“Toward the end — when this happened — we decided we were going to do it right, start from the beginning, get our marriage back on track, she said. “Someone came and took that away from me.”